Lonely Parrot Goes Shopping Online With Alexa While Owners Out

Tom Cockrem

Talk about a captive audience. Rocco, an apparently lonely and, uh, peckish African Grey parrot in Berkshire UK, has become so used to hearing his owners talk to Amazon's Alexa, he started doing it himself when they were out of the house. So far, the feathered fowl has ordered watermelon, strawberries, raisins, ice cream and even broccoli. The bird has also commanded the home robot to tell him jokes and play love songs. Rocco's owner Marion Wischnewski told The Times of London that she often comes home to Rocco dancing to romantic music, which she says is indicative of his “sweet personality.” Because of a parental lock feature, none of the orders for food have so far gone through, but his owner always has to check that he hasn't scheduled events or added to her online grocery lists. “Rocco and Alexa chat away to each other all day,” she said. “Then I have to check the shopping list and cancel all the items he’s ordered.”